The present invention relates generally to item dispensing, and in particular to systems and methods for managing inventory at dispensing units, such as a dispensing units in a medical or other healthcare facility.
Medical facilities, such as hospitals, use dispensing stations or units to facilitate the delivery of medicines, supplies and other items. Such dispensing units may be placed near patients and are designed to hold various supplies and pharmaceuticals needed by those patients. The dispensing units have the ability to control access and maintain records on the number and types of items that are dispensed, using a data input and processing system built into the unit. For example, a dispensing unit may include a cabinet with a plurality of retractable drawers. Each drawer can be divided into bins, so that more than one type of item may be held within each drawer in order to facilitate the delivery of one or different items to a single patient or to a group of patients in nearby locations. Security may be provided by providing locks on the drawers to allow access to certain individuals, such a nurses, or allow access to only certain items, or allow access only at certain times of the day, all under the control of the system at the station.
In order to access items in a dispensing unit, an authorized individual may be required to enter various information, such as authenticating information (e.g., a user ID/password of the authorized individual), information concerning the patient (e.g., patient name or ID), and information concerning the item being dispensed (name or identifier of item). Data can be scanned (e.g. from a bar code) or entered at a keyboard. Other information is collected by the system at the dispensing unit, such as the time that each item is dispensed.
Thus, large amounts of information are gathered as items are dispensed, such as quantity and types of items dispensed, for whom dispensed, when dispensed, when replenished, and so forth. However, that information is often difficult to analyze for purposes of inventory management and analysis, other than through complex spreadsheets and other reports that may not be easily used by supply technicians (people replenishing cabinets) and others involved in managing inventory.
In addition, conventional inventory reporting systems are often not suitable for tracking pharmaceuticals and other supplies in a medical facility, such as a hospital, where there can be significant differences in the level of care provided where dispensing stations are located. Some locations may have predictable and routine uses of supplies (making inventory management somewhat straight forward), but other locations (such as at emergency and critical care units) may be difficult to manage. For example, nurses in emergency and critical care locations might need supplies quickly and have little time to enter data for items being dispensed. It can also be difficult at those locations to predict, at any point in time, the type and quantity of items that may be needed. Thus, unlike routine medical care locations, supplies for higher levels of care may need to be monitored frequently and always fully stocked to assure immediate availability when needed. At the same time, inventory managers need to monitor dispensing stations at all levels of care to avoid mismanagement of supplies by users and, especially, improper diversion of addictive items, such as narcotics, that may be stocked at the dispensing stations.